The title says it all, but to clarify, assuming that the client does not have a specific contract that I must sigh or specific clauses that they want added, what rights to the photographs that I take should I retain for myself?

2 Answers
2

You should assert your copyright and all other rights (with the 'all rights reserved' clause), and explicitly grant the customer a licence to use the image for the purposes they need and no more, unless it's a royalty-free sale. If the image contains people or property you should check to see whether you need a signed release; if images of people are used for commercial/advertising purposes then without a release, the subject can reasonably demand a share of the profits from the use of the image.

Assuming the client has no specific clauses that they want added, then you should retain as many rights as legally possible, while still allowing the usage that you have specifically offered the client.